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The Lustful Ape
"Sometimes it was murder--sometimes it was even worse!"
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 26, 2020
Bruno Fischer was one of many skilled writers during the great paperback era of the fifties. In Lustful Ape, he gives us a fast-reading, fun, pulpy novel filled with murder, blackmail, sexy dames, news
reporters, and hoodlums.
The heart of the novel is Narda Hart, a femme fatale who would use her body as coinage to get whatever she wanted. Dirk Hart, an ex-cop, private eye, is her ex-husband and as beguiling as Narda is, he's been burned by her too many times to trust her again. The pulpiest part of the tale is the beginning as Dirk struggles with his passion and frustration. When Narda is struck down in the street after he's turned her away, Dirk is determined to shake the city loose to find her killer with only the narrowest of clues.
I might ultimately have preferred a simpler pulpier plot, but it's a good exciting read. It just misses being really good as some of the plotting in the book feels a bit cheaper and contrived like a Hollywood movie,
particularly the climatic scenes in the cellar as our young hero fights against time for his life and that of the poor scantily clad damsel who had the bad luck to be with him.
reporters, and hoodlums.
The heart of the novel is Narda Hart, a femme fatale who would use her body as coinage to get whatever she wanted. Dirk Hart, an ex-cop, private eye, is her ex-husband and as beguiling as Narda is, he's been burned by her too many times to trust her again. The pulpiest part of the tale is the beginning as Dirk struggles with his passion and frustration. When Narda is struck down in the street after he's turned her away, Dirk is determined to shake the city loose to find her killer with only the narrowest of clues.
I might ultimately have preferred a simpler pulpier plot, but it's a good exciting read. It just misses being really good as some of the plotting in the book feels a bit cheaper and contrived like a Hollywood movie,
particularly the climatic scenes in the cellar as our young hero fights against time for his life and that of the poor scantily clad damsel who had the bad luck to be with him.
May 23, 2021
From 1950
First put out by Lion Books as by Russell Gray. Then on Fawcett Gold Medal under his real name, Bruno Fischer. Probably 3.5 stars, truly. I loved it, then it became slow, with lots of torture and nudity.
First put out by Lion Books as by Russell Gray. Then on Fawcett Gold Medal under his real name, Bruno Fischer. Probably 3.5 stars, truly. I loved it, then it became slow, with lots of torture and nudity.
September 20, 2021
Russell Gray was a pseudonym of Bruno Fischer and this novel of murder and blackmail gets off to a typical Fischer quick start as Dirk Hart, an ex-cop turned private detective, learns that his estranged wife was murdered right after visiting him in a negligee. Things get a bit confusing in the first few chapters as Fischer rapidly introduces a lot of characters and spins out sub-plots galore, but then he starts pulling all the threads together and we have ourselves a page turner. The title and back cover tease copy are misleading: there is a character named Ape, and he is lustful, but no more so than the other characters, and his lust has little to do with the story. This is all about a blackmail scheme that Dirk needs to unravel before he too ends up dead. Satisfying murder mystery. Also available as a Gold Medal paperback with the Bruno Fischer by line, and an ebook version is available from Prologue Books.
June 12, 2019
very sub-par outing from Bruno Fischer. It may have moved a few copies back in the day because of the don't-spare-the-sadism climax, but that was then. Now it only makes for an annoying ending to a dull, messy private eye tale.
March 27, 2025
I had to read this once I saw the author's name combined with the racy but fantastic title. For anyone looking to experience a vintage pulp crime novel from the 50s, you'll find plenty to enjoy here.
It has the classic characters: the tough-guy detective, the kinda sleazy but decent sidekick/friend, the femme fatale, the bruiser henchman, and the conniving bad guy.
Something I've noticed in a few older stories is how the fully adult characters seem to have the impulse control of teenagers. They tend to be quick to anger or passion in a way that I can't take seriously. It reminds me of the scene from Richard Matheson's I Am Legend where the female vampires are dancing seductively on the main character's front lawn and the MC yelled and punched a nearby wall. I mean, I feel like you can justify the character's reaction by hyping up some sort of charismatic vampire charm or by having the main character flashback to a memory of having a picnic with his wife on that lawn that's now being desecrated by vampire whores, but I don't remember any effort to explain the behavior. In old-timey stories, grown men often seem to throw tantrums like children and it's portrayed as common behavior.
This is a pulp novel though, so it's hard to tell where the straight-faced portrayal of the times ends and the intentional exaggeration of tropes begins.
Personally, I really disliked how little agency Dirk, the detective main character, had when it came to resolving the plot obstacles. Sure, he got to have an infodumping scene where he explained all the details of the case at the end, but when the going was tough it seemed like all the other characters did all the heavy lifting.
I enjoyed the first half of the story for the setup and the vibe of the story, but honestly felt let down by the second half. So I would recommend this for someone looking for a quick pulpy read, but probably direct people to Raymond Chandler for a more satisfying story. Granted this is the only story I've read by Bruno Fischer/Russell Gray, so this may not be representative of his common plot formula.
It has the classic characters: the tough-guy detective, the kinda sleazy but decent sidekick/friend, the femme fatale, the bruiser henchman, and the conniving bad guy.
Something I've noticed in a few older stories is how the fully adult characters seem to have the impulse control of teenagers. They tend to be quick to anger or passion in a way that I can't take seriously. It reminds me of the scene from Richard Matheson's I Am Legend where the female vampires are dancing seductively on the main character's front lawn and the MC yelled and punched a nearby wall. I mean, I feel like you can justify the character's reaction by hyping up some sort of charismatic vampire charm or by having the main character flashback to a memory of having a picnic with his wife on that lawn that's now being desecrated by vampire whores, but I don't remember any effort to explain the behavior. In old-timey stories, grown men often seem to throw tantrums like children and it's portrayed as common behavior.
This is a pulp novel though, so it's hard to tell where the straight-faced portrayal of the times ends and the intentional exaggeration of tropes begins.
Personally, I really disliked how little agency Dirk, the detective main character, had when it came to resolving the plot obstacles. Sure, he got to have an infodumping scene where he explained all the details of the case at the end, but when the going was tough it seemed like all the other characters did all the heavy lifting.
I enjoyed the first half of the story for the setup and the vibe of the story, but honestly felt let down by the second half. So I would recommend this for someone looking for a quick pulpy read, but probably direct people to Raymond Chandler for a more satisfying story. Granted this is the only story I've read by Bruno Fischer/Russell Gray, so this may not be representative of his common plot formula.
May 12, 2013
This was the only book, to my knowledge, that was published as both a Lion and Gold Medal paperback. It was published as by Russell Gray with Lion and under his real name, Bruno Fischer, with Gold Medal.
Good early 50s PBO. You always get your money's worth with Fischer. Although his books are seldom great, they are never bad. I know that sounds like I'm damning him with faint praise, but let me assure you he's always an enjoyable read, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend him to somebody who doesn't normally read 50s pulp.
Good early 50s PBO. You always get your money's worth with Fischer. Although his books are seldom great, they are never bad. I know that sounds like I'm damning him with faint praise, but let me assure you he's always an enjoyable read, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend him to somebody who doesn't normally read 50s pulp.
May 2, 2012
Despite the menacing cover, this piece of hardboiled fiction has an innocent charm happening. I'm sure in 1950 it was a bit more shock rock, but I found it an enjoyable read regardless. It is violent at times, but not too over the top. Interesting characters and situations, and a great story.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews